The centre conducted a survey from December 1-12 among 777 people in Bangkok aged from 15 to 65. It showed that 77 per cent of respondents shopped for New Year gifts, down from 78.6 per cent last year. Quality of products was a primary concern followed by price.

Of the 77 per cent, 44.2 per cent bought New Year gifts with a similar budget to last year. Meanwhile, 43.9 per cent spent a little bit more and 11.9 per cent spent less.

The study also found a decrease in spending on gifts for foundations or associations such as orphanages, from 0.6 per cent last year to 0.2 per cent this year.

The economic situation this year could be considered the main negative factor. Oil prices were another influence.

Spending on gifts for parents and siblings represented the highest proportion at 28.66 per cent of total spending. Parents and siblings were so important to them that they would buy gifts as expensive as they could afford.

Spending on gifts for elder relatives represented the second-highest figure at 16.39 per cent, followed by lovers at 12.06 per cent, friends and colleagues at 10.74 per cent, customers/companies/teachers at 10.28 per cent, present exchanges at 8.87 per cent, themselves 7.75 per cent, and the rest for their children.

Among those who buy gifts, most are aged 20 years up and nearing graduation for a bachelor's degree.

Those under-20 don't pay much attention to spending, possibly because of their low purchasing power. In addition, modern teenagers are technology-advanced. Many use mobile phones and increasingly send New Year greetings through short messages.

Gift baskets are popular gifts for parents. They oft en contain well-known brands, local wisdom products or healthy items such as birds' nests or chicken essences.